Android overtook iPhone in new sales for H1, but BlackBerry may be under pressure.
Smartphones now account for 25% of all US mobile subscribers, according to The Nielsen Company. That's up from 16% a year ago.
What's more, Nielsen has predicted that smartphones will overtake feature phones in the US by the end of 2011. This is in terms of install base - not just new quarterly sales.
Nielsen has also broken down the share of all smartphones by OS, with RIM in the lead on 35%, followed by iPhone (28%), Windows Mobile (15%) and Android (13%). Android is rising fast, and looks set to overtake WinMo next quarter.
In fact, Nielsen says Android took a 27% share of new smartphones bought in the first half of this year in the US, behind only RIM's 33%, and ahead of iPhone's 23%.
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The company has also been surveying users on what handset they want to buy next, and the results will make RIM execs' hair stand on end.
89% of iPhone owners say they want to stick with Apple for their next handset, with 6% saying Android, 2% saying BlackBerry, and 3% saying other smartphone OS's.
Meanwhile, 71% of Android users say they're sticking with Google, while 21% want an iPhone next time round. 3% say BlackBerry, and 5% say another OS.
And BlackBerry? Just 42% of BlackBerry users surveyed by Nielsen said they want another one, while 29% want an iPhone and 21% want an Android handset - with 7% saying another OS.
Looking at all these numbers together, the implication is clear. BlackBerry remains the top smartphone OS in the US, but if the upcoming BlackBerry 6 OS doesn't impress users, then in a year's time RIM's market share could be well and truly on the slide.
No pressure, obviously...
